CVE-2014-3358 in IOS
Summary
by MITRE
Memory leak in Cisco IOS 15.0, 15.1, 15.2, and 15.4 and IOS XE 3.3.xSE before 3.3.2SE, 3.3.xXO before 3.3.1XO, 3.5.xE before 3.5.2E, and 3.11.xS before 3.11.1S allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption, and interface queue wedge or device reload) via malformed mDNS packets, aka Bug ID CSCuj58950.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/21/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-3358 represents a critical memory leak issue affecting Cisco IOS and IOS XE operating systems across multiple versions. This flaw specifically impacts devices running IOS 15.0, 15.1, 15.2, and 15.4 releases as well as IOS XE versions 3.3.xSE before 3.3.2SE, 3.3.xXO before 3.3.1XO, 3.5.xE before 3.5.2E, and 3.11.xS before 3.11.1S. The vulnerability manifests through malformed multicast domain name system packets that exploit a weakness in how these network operating systems process mDNS traffic.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper memory management within the mDNS processing module of affected Cisco devices. When malformed mDNS packets are received, the system fails to properly release allocated memory resources, leading to progressive memory consumption over time. This memory leak eventually causes significant system instability, manifesting as interface queue wedges where network interfaces become unresponsive, or complete device reloads that result in service disruption. The flaw operates at the network protocol processing layer where the device's mDNS implementation does not adequately validate packet structures before allocating memory resources.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant denial of service risk that can be exploited remotely without authentication. Attackers can simply send crafted malformed mDNS packets to targeted devices, causing them to consume excessive memory resources until system performance degrades or devices become completely unresponsive. The impact extends beyond individual device compromise to potentially affect entire network segments if multiple devices are vulnerable, creating cascading failures that can disrupt critical network services and communications. Network administrators face the challenge of maintaining device availability while dealing with the resource exhaustion that occurs during exploitation.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which describes improper management of memory allocation and deallocation, specifically highlighting the failure to release memory resources after use. This weakness creates a condition where the system's memory pool gradually depletes, eventually leading to system instability. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion, making it a particularly attractive target for attackers seeking to disrupt network operations. The remote nature of the attack means that devices can be compromised from outside the network perimeter, expanding the potential attack surface significantly.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected devices with the appropriate Cisco security advisories and software updates. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit exposure of vulnerable devices and monitor for unusual memory consumption patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Network administrators should also consider implementing access control lists to filter mDNS traffic or disable mDNS processing on devices where it is not essential. Regular vulnerability assessments and network monitoring should be conducted to identify any remaining vulnerable devices and ensure complete remediation across the network infrastructure.